Kuwait Reappoints Oil, Finance Ministers in New Cabinet

In this file photo taken on March 15, 2022 Kuwaiti former interior minister Ahmed Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah attending a parliamentary session at the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on March 15, 2022 Kuwaiti former interior minister Ahmed Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah attending a parliamentary session at the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP)
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Kuwait Reappoints Oil, Finance Ministers in New Cabinet

In this file photo taken on March 15, 2022 Kuwaiti former interior minister Ahmed Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah attending a parliamentary session at the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on March 15, 2022 Kuwaiti former interior minister Ahmed Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah attending a parliamentary session at the national assembly in Kuwait City. (AFP)

Kuwait reappointed Oil Minister Mohammed Al-Fares and Finance Minister Abdul Wahab al-Rasheed in a cabinet formed on Monday under a new prime minister.

Last week the crown prince of the Gulf Arab OPEC producer had named Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf al-Sabah as prime minister to replace Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid, who had faced a combative parliament in a feud between the government and elected assembly that has hindered fiscal reform.

Now that a government has been formed, parliament is expected to hold a session to approve the state budget.

The government would also oversee legislative elections to be called by Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmed al-Sabah, who last month said he was dissolving parliament in a move welcomed by lawmakers pressing for a new premier.

Sheikh Meshal late last year took over most of the duties of the country's ruling emir.

The new 12-member cabinet includes only one woman, Rana Al-Fares, who was appointed minister of state for municipal affairs and telecommunications and information technology affairs.

The defense minister is also acting interior minister, a position that was previously held by new premier Sheikh Ahmad, who is the current emir's son.

The previous government had resigned ahead of a non-cooperation vote in parliament against Sheikh Sabah, who had been prime minister since late 2019.



Kuwait Jails 13 Citizens, Fines them $87 Mn for Hezbollah Funding

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
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Kuwait Jails 13 Citizens, Fines them $87 Mn for Hezbollah Funding

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on Monday sentenced 13 citizens to three years in prison for raising funds through a charity to support Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The court also fined them 27 million Kuwaiti dinars ($87 million), overturning a previous acquittal by a lower court.

The court that issued the sentencing was presided over by Judge Abdullah Jassim Al-Abdullah.

Initially, the Criminal Court had acquitted the defendants, citing the absence of legislation explicitly criminalizing unlicensed fundraising for public purposes since the establishment of Kuwait's Social Affairs Department on December 14, 1954.

The court said this legal gap limited its authority under Article 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedures and Trials. However, the decision was reversed by the higher court.

The defendants had been interrogated in November 2021 over alleged financial support to organizations linked to Hezbollah.

At the time, the Public Prosecution ordered their detention, and security authorities conducted extensive investigations into financial transfers suspected of funding such groups in Lebanon.

The case dates back to November 2021. The charges included significant financial transfers made over several years to foreign entities, including in Lebanon, prompting authorities to scrutinize transaction records.

The defendants denied the charges, claiming they had worked with a charity committee for 30 years, primarily sponsoring orphans in Lebanon and other countries.

In March 2024, the Court of Cassation classified Hezbollah as a banned terrorist group, describing it as an armed organization working to undermine Kuwait’s system and spread Iran’s revolutionary ideology.

The ruling officially confirmed Hezbollah’s designation as a terrorist entity under Kuwaiti law.